Qualcomm and MeitY (C-DAC) to Promote Semiconductor Design Startups

[ABS News Service/30.04.2022]

Qualcomm India Private Limited (Qualcomm India), part of the Qualcomm group of companies (NASDAQ: QCOM), plans to initiate and conduct the Qualcomm® Semiconductor Mentorship Program (‘QSMP’) 2022 for select startups from the semiconductor space in India, with an intent to provide and facilitate mentorship, technical training, and industry outreach. For 2022, Qualcomm India has announced a collaboration with the C-DAC, an autonomous scientific society of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, who will be an outreach partner for the program and facilitate exposure for the participating startups. Under this collaboration, C-DAC and Qualcomm India intend to work towards the following broad objectives:

§ Nurture technical advancements and intellectual-property-driven innovation and product development required for semiconductor design in the Indian ecosystem

§ Help reduce risks in innovation; accelerate the pace of business development; and develop soft skills and knowledge base of Indian startups engaged in semiconductor design

§ Facilitate access for the selected startups with domain experts, VCs, accelerators, incubators, industry associations and large companies that could help them scale up their business

§ Create platforms and forums that provide opportunities to work with high-growth-potential small businesses and startups who have potentially disruptive technologies that could develop or reshape semiconductor supply chains in the future

Qualcomm India will shortlist up to 10 Indian semiconductor startups for QSMP 2022. Each shortlisted startup will be paired with a Qualcomm India leader for mentorship on product planning and development. The startup and the mentor will meet on a periodic basis either in person or through online meetings. Qualcomm India will also facilitate “Masterclass” workshops for the shortlisted startups on semiconductor design aspects such as design, testing, and verification packaging, as well as on non-technical topics such as pitches, IPR, marketing, government incentives/opportunities, and scaling up teams. C-DAC and Qualcomm India will facilitate exposure for these startups to government stakeholders through meetings, webinars, seminars, or tradeshows.

Rajen Vagadia, VP and President of Qualcomm India & SAARC, said, “The semiconductor supply chain has underlined the demand to find domestic solutions for the needs across industries. Semiconductors are an essential building block for most technology platforms and connected devices There is a huge opportunity for Indian semiconductor startups due to the incentives provided by the Government. Qualcomm India is committed to help semiconductor design startups capitalize on India’s design and engineering talent to drive innovations that will power the intelligent, connected future we foresee, not only for India but the world.”

E. Magesh, Director General C-DAC said, “The semiconductor industry is crucial for the growth of many other industries. We encourage Indian startups to come forward and meet the current and projected domestic demand for semiconductors with the support of Government-led programmes such as “Make in India” and the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme. The prevailing global and domestic environments present opportunities for both established companies and startups. The joint initiative with Qualcomm India will enable us to identify, interact with, and support the scale-up of the most promising Indian semiconductor startups.”

Qualcomm India has been engaging with the startup ecosystem in India since 2016. Qualcomm® Design in India Challenge is the company’s flagship incubation program for IoT and hardware startups designing products and solutions. The program has dedicated engineering personnel, a laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment and prototype platforms in Bengaluru to support the startups. Earlier, in 2020, Qualcomm India had launched yet another startup initiative – Qualcomm® Women Entrepreneur India Network, a mentorship program for women-founded startups.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm is the world’s leading wireless technology innovator and the driving force behind the development, launch, and expansion of 5G. When we connected the phone to the internet, the mobile revolution was born. Today, our foundational technologies enable the mobile ecosystem and are found in every 3G, 4G and 5G smartphone. We bring the benefits of mobile to new industries, including automotive, the internet of things, and computing, and are leading the way to a world where everything and everyone can communicate and interact seamlessly.

Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of our engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of our products and services businesses, including our QCT semiconductor business.

Qualcomm is a trademark or registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated.

About C-DAC

C-DAC is a premier Research and Development organization of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), engaged in cutting edge technology areas for design, development and deployment of products and solutions in the area of Electronics and Information Technology. C-DAC has been at the forefront of the Information Technology (IT) revolution, constantly building capacities in emerging/enabling technologies and innovating and leveraging its expertise, caliber, skill sets to develop and deploy IT products and solutions for different sectors of the economy, as directed by the Government.

CDAC has been entrusted with the responsibility to execute the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme notified by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India to help offset the disabilities in the domestic industry involved in semiconductor design in order to strengthen the semiconductor chip design ecosystem in the country and facilitating access to semiconductor design infrastructure for the start-ups and MSMEs.